Historically, a contestant was able to enter a promotional contest provided they had an appropriate entry form or game card, such as a scratch card. Generally, a limited number of the enrollment forms or game cards were issued, based on the estimated participation and contestants could enter the promotional contest “while supplies lasted.” In this manner, the odds of winning a prize could be controlled over the course of the promotion.
Increasingly, electronic promotions are being offered, where a contestant enters an electronic promotional contest electronically. With electronic promotions, contestants may enter, for example, by swiping an electronic card, placing a telephone call to a specified number, sending an electronic mail or text message to a specified address, or by having an RFID tag in the vicinity of an appropriate reader. In addition, a contestant may be automatically entered in an electronic promotional contest by having a transaction history that satisfies a predefined threshold. For example, a customer may be automatically entered in a promotional contest when a particular dollar value (such as a minimum purchase amount) or usage threshold (such as a minimum number of calls or messages in a predefined interval) is exceeded.
Typically, such promotional contests have a fixed number of prizes and are run for a specified duration. The number of participants that will enter a given promotional contest, however, is typically not known and hard to predict in advance.
The provider of the promotional contest does not want to distribute more than the allotted number of prizes in a prize inventory for an electronic promotion. Thus, given a fixed number of prizes and an unknown number of participants for a promotional contest, there exists a need for methods and apparatus for dynamically adjusting the odds of winning over time to smooth the number of prizes awarded, based on the actual participation. The prizes should be distributed in a random fashion, and distributed approximately equally over the course of the promotion. Ideally, all prizes will be given away.